A variety of implements which may be towed by a vehicle is known in the art. For example, the known rotary mower is attached to a draft vehicle by a three-point hitch, and a wheel is attached to a bar which projects rearwardly from the mower. The wheel may be of the castering type.
Other implements are known which may be pushed by a vehicle, such as a earth-moving blade. An earth-moving blade, such as that shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,961,011, may have pads on the bottom of the blade for supporting the weight of the blade. These pads may be circular and are typically mounted so that they do not rotate. Hence, they merely act as ground contact pads so that the edge of the blade does not dig into the ground.
It is also known to employ pads to support the blade of a mower. U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,043 shows such an apparatus. The mowing blade is mounted on a rotating shaft for vertical movement within fixed limits. Attached to the bottom of the shaft is a pad which rides along the ground and maintains the height of the cutting blade at a constant distance above the terrain. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,805 shows a mower having pads directly below the mowing blades to support the weight of the mower.
It is also known to use pads for supporting other implements. U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,219 shows a cultivating implement having pad-like supports. These supports are rotatable and have projections on their bottoms to induce rotation to aid in the cultivation.